Turbo pumps are used to provide deep vacuum in sensitive inspection machines, such as scanning electron microscopes. As the pumps rotate, they produce vibrations which can prevent proper operation of the inspection machines. Accordingly, it is desired to provide vibration isolation of the pump from the vacuum chamber to which it is connected. In conventional systems, dampers are connected between the pump, which rotates at high speed, and the vacuum chamber. The purpose of these dampers is to isolate the sensitive equipment from the vibration of the pumps.
One example of a known damper is shown in FIG. 1. A pump (1A) is connected to a vacuum chamber (not shown) by a sealing mechanism. The sealing mechanism consists of a metal bellow (2A), which connects the pump (1A) and the vacuum chamber, and a damper (3A) which is built around the bellow. Damper (3A) is usually a rubber or elastomer ring that fits around the metal bellow.
While this damper is able to absorb a large percentage of the vibrations from the pump, the metal bellow transfers vibrations, which can be sufficient to degrade the proper functioning of extremely sensitive instruments.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for an efficient mechanism for isolating vibrations from turbo pumps, and it would be very desirable if such mechanism were to provide a hermetic seal while permitting the pumps to vibrate without passing vibrations to the chamber.